Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Can One Be a Christian if Jesus is Not Their Lord? (Part 4 - Acts)

Having defined what repentance is biblically in our last post, let us now consider the rest of the book of Acts to see if Peter's gospel presentation on Pentecost was repeated by the new-formed church as she - in the power of the Holy Spirit - began to take the gospel from Jerusalem and spread it to the ends of the earth (1:8).

Perhaps, we may ascertain, Peter's message in chapter 2 was a unique one, fitted specifically for his particular audience that day.  However, when we read the very next chapter, we see that nothing could be further from the truth, as we see a frighteningly similar message preached to the one preached on Pentecost: "Repent, therefore, and turn, so that your sins may be blotted out."  Herein, and in all the remaining verses in the Book of Acts to be cited, we are going to see a blatantly indivisible connection between repentance and salvation; or here, as Peter makes unashamedly clear: "no repentance/turning (a Hebrew parallelism), no sins forgiven."  This then begs the question: when we see people who live in blatant & unrepentant sin, does the Bible offer any assurance of salvation to such people? Should churches & pastors be consoling such sinners, who love sin more than Christ, to "rededicate themselves"?  Or, should they - with the apostle Peter - be calling on them to repent, thus saving themselves from this depraved generation (2:40)?  As we look at the biblical witness as purveyed in the book of Acts, the answer will become obviously clear.

As noted in the previous post, true repentance is a gift that Christ has purchased for His people - a repentance that brings with it God's forgiveness of sins. Peter verifies this by saying, "God exalted Him [i.e. Jesus] at His right hand as Leader & Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins" (5:31).  If true repentance and true forgiveness of sins are inseparable, why do so many Christians teach that one can be saved without a saving repentance?  The Scriptures, repeatedly, make it so simple: those who belong to Jesus exhibit lives that are characterized by obedience. The Holy Spirit is simply not given to those who refuse to embrace the Lordship of Christ, evidenced primarily by obedience to His commands & demands (5:32).

We are not surprised when Peter again links these two soteriological concepts in Acts 8:22, when he says, "Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you."

Again, in 11:18, the church rejoices when the Gentiles respond to the gospel message.  The evidence: God-given repentance that leads to life.

In 13:24 (cf. 19:4), the early church was not ignorant that the forerunner of the LORD, John the Baptist, was renown for preaching the centrality of repentance as prerequisite to entering the Kingdom of God.

Paul, when preaching to the pagans on Mars Hill, concludes his message as follows: "Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God now commands all people everywhere to repent" (17:30, HCSB).

In Acts 20:21, Paul reminds the elders at the Ephesian church that his message was characterized as follows: "I have had one message for Jews and Greeks alike - the necessity of repenting from sin, and of having faith in our Lord Jesus" (NLT).

What does "bearing fruit in keeping with repentance" (Matt. 3:8) look like in Paul's preaching? "I declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance" (26:20).

Even when preaching to Felix, though the word repentance is not explicitly given, Paul spoke both of "faith in Christ Jesus", as well as "righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment" (24:24-25). Those who are "in Christ" will begin to look like Him. Is this not what Paul says in Romans 8:29, namely that those who are Christ's elect have been predestined for the sole purpose of being made into His glorious image?

Christ's life was characterized by obedience to the Father's will.  Thus, those who say they belong to Him and yet live lives characterized by disobedience to the Father's will are, as John simply puts it, liars who should be given no assurance of sins forgiven (1 John 1:6).  Though we are saved by the obedience & merits of Christ, those who have been truly saved by faith in Christ will indeed - by faith - "work out their salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil. 2:12-13), and "press on to possess the perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed them" (3:12, NLT).

In our next post, we will look at Paul's letters to ponder his thoughts regarding the characteristics of a genuine, bona fide Christian.  Having already surveyed the data, I can guarantee that his message is in perfect harmony with the aforementioned Scriptures (i.e. the Gospels and Acts).

May Christ be seen as He truly is: our Sovereign Lord who is high & lifted up!
In Him, and for His glory to the ends of the earth,
Pastor Ryan

No comments:

Post a Comment